Behavior! A key to Success
Behavior is the key to your confidence and it also helps you to climb the mountains of success. Your behavior represents who you are. We often heard that behavior is the thing that helps you to present yourself for a job interview with confidence.
But the Question is, What kind of behavior will increase your confidence. As a social animal we all have to be confident, does not matter where we are or who we are. Confidence will help us to get maximum out of the situation.
Shallow Confidence
when I was in high school. My mom asked me to order a pizza for the family on a Friday night. I looked up the phone number in the phone book and promptly handed the phone to my older brother to place the call. I was too shy to talk to a stranger. Fast forward to college at the university of Illinoi is my first time away from my small town.
I spent the first several weeks crying in my dorm room too home sick to take in early freshman partying. The one frat party i did attend was so disappointing. I wanted to trade in my books abandon my major and head back home to my small town.
Confidence & Behaviors
The confident behaviors I needed to pursue this stream were not yet available. When I looked around at the confident students walking around me, around campus, heads held high pursuing a dream that they had set out to achieve.
I wanted that kind of confidence too. But my behaviors did not align with thesec onfident attitudes. Crying in my dorm room shying away from social engagement, not showing up for class. Because I was worried. I thought others were smarter than me. These were not going to lead me to achieve my goal.
Need to Change Behavior
So I knew is that I needed to change. Research tells us that in order to get people to change you need to not start with the attitudes but with the behaviors associated with those attitudes. When people can see themselves behaving differently they begin to act differently.
Begin with The End in Mind
So the questions for me were who am I? Who do I want to become? How does this person I want to behave. The answers were that, I wanted a successful career one that meant something, allowed me to contribute.
For me that was defined as a career, as a sports executive in order to achieve this goal I needed to begin to act more confidently. And I did because 13 years later I became the first female general manager of a triple a baseball team in nearly 20 years. I also went on to host the leadership is female podcast where I’ve interviewed over 90 female executives in sports industry.
Power of Confidence
That’s over 80 percent male at management level and above and time after time these women have told me that the number one skill they’ve improved in order to earn their spot at the top of the sports industry is confidence. They, like me, did not possess this confidence necessary to increase their level in their career from the get-go. That is the Power of Confidence
Six Behaviors
They had to work on the behaviors associated with this attitude in order to propel their career forward. So I’m here today to share with you six behaviors you can start today to increase your confidence why is it important to increase our confidence well think of this how would you behave or what could you achieve if you were 10 times more confident
1- Count Yourself In
Number one or First behavior is, count yourself in. I spoke with a woman about her first time doing sideline reporting at a nationally televised basketball game. she was shaking in her heels, standing courtside nerves overtaking her until she heard something familiar in her headset. We’ll be on in five and three two one you’re live and she performed with excellence. The nerves melting away. She’s an athlete a former basketball player. She used to performing on the court by the clock and the tactic remain true. Counting will get you started and momentum will keep you going.
I have used this technique. I’ve had more uncomfortable conversations than I care to recall. But one I’ll share with you today, I vividly remember standing on the warning track of the baseball field 45minutes before game time looking at the opposing manager and his team wearing the wrong color uniform.
I wanted to turn and run. Back up to my office! and hide. but instead of doing this I faced him. I head on and I said in my mind, three two one go. Then I started walking towards him and when I arrived we had a very uncomfortable conversation about his team wearing the wrong color uniform. I had asked these grown men to change their clothes. It was so awkward but when I asked myself who am I? and how do I behave? the answer was that I’m a person who’s not too shy to to stand up for what I believe, What is right, and stand up to conflict counting got me started and momentum kept me going.
2- Give yourself 20 seconds of Courage
Second Behavior is, what if you only had to be brave for a total of 20 seconds give yourself 20 seconds of courage. This behavior helped me enormously. when I published my podcast leadership is female. With the bold title, and all for all the world to see, hear critique and have their opinions. I vividly remember sitting on the carpet of my closet floor holding my computer looking at the upload button thinking to myself does it need any more edits? Should I listen to it one more time?
I told myself, Listen Dear! give yourself 20seconds of courage. then I hit publish and it was done. Guess what I kept breathing and the world kept turning and the podcast grew into what it was meant to be. All because of 20 seconds of courage.
3- Speaking actually
Number three take a seat at the table not metaphorically but speaking actually. Take a seat at the table. I spoke with a woman who represents some of the biggest names in baseball. She told me a story about taking a seat at the table. She noticed women waiting around the edges of the room. Waiting for the seats to be filled.
Worse yet she was doing it too in order to become the more confident woman that she envisioned herself to be. She needed to go in sit down speak her mind and get the deal done. That started with one simple action. Taking a seat at the table.
4- Cheer for other people’s success
Number four. Cheer for other people’s success. They say that women will pull up the ladder behind them. What if you didn’t? What if you extended a hand back to lead her forward? and what if you celebrated the success of a colleague rather than feeling sorry for yourself?
That if was not you, accepting the accolades. Confident people celebrate the success of others rather than feeling threatened. Think of this great quote from Amy pooler, “good for her not for me”.
It turns that pit in your stomach of, oh she did that and I’m still here into yes good for her not for me. This is her celebration not mine. When my time comes isn’t it going to be great to have the support of so many people around me. Wins are so much better celebrated together, join in, cheer to someone else on here’s number four in action.
Recently a woman was promoted to chief marketing officer of a major sports league. The offer to interview and ultimately land the job. Came after her public celebration in sincere congratulatory outreach to the newly named female league president. Confident people support those around them, cheer for someone else’s success. We should not take it personally.
5- bolster your confidence for a new activity through your already great performance
Number five is bolster your confidence for a new activity through your already great performance in another. What are you really good at! or what is easier today than it was one year ago! what is your most proud accomplishment!
Answer those questions. Think about those answers. Those answers is where your confidence is born. Confidence is born in all we’ve already done and already achieved. Recently a woman I interviewed on the leadership as female. Podcast was going after a big big promotion at a top team. Before she went in to pitch her boss, she reviewed her current job description. Made notes of her accolades in all areas mentioned and then was prepared with the examples. The confidence of the success she had in the past she got the promotion. Use your prior success to propel yourself forward. Adopting such behaviors can lead you to a long highway of success.
6- Celebrate Constantly
Number six celebrate constantly. How often do we reach our goals and then just immediately move on. When we do this the recollection of that success is diminished. how can we confidently move forward if we can’t remember what we achieved! or worse. Yet link that accomplishment to stress. Find ways to celebrate that are meaningful to you.
Like creating a highlight reel in your cell phone of your most proud accomplishments. Take your team out for celebratory lunch. When you close the big deal, buy yourself a massage or maybe order a pizza.
When you reach your personal goals. It doesn’t matter how you celebrate. It matters that you do. This will create a marker in your brain to rewire and reinforce the behaviors that led to the success.
Conclusion
In the first place I’ve come a long way from the girl, who couldn’t order a pizza to the woman who became GM of a minor league base ball team, started a podcast and delivered lectures. All because I made the decision to become a more confident person, and I hope you do too. Because how many runs could you score if you were 10 times more confident. This will be done by changing our behaviors.
